OAKLAND , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Richard Lee greets students , shopkeepers and tourists as he rolls his wheelchair down Broadway at the speed of a brisk jog , hailing them with , `` Hi . How ya doin ' ? ''

Marijuana activist Richard Lee is a local celebrity in the small district of Oakland , California , called Oaksterdam .

In this nine-block district of Oakland , California , called Oaksterdam , Lee is a celebrity .

Oaksterdam is Lee 's brainchild , a small pocket of urban renewal built on a thriving trade in medical marijuana . The district 's name comes from a marriage of Oakland and Amsterdam , a city in the Netherlands renowned for its easy attitude toward sex and drugs .

Lee is the founder of Oaksterdam University , which he describes as a trade school that specializes in all things marijuana : how to grow it , how to market it , how to consume it . The school , which has a curriculum , classes and teachers , claims 3,500 graduates .

Lee also owns a medical marijuana dispensary , a coffee house , a large indoor marijuana plantation , and a museum/store devoted to the cause of legalizing marijuana .

`` I really see this as following the history of alcohol . The way prohibition was repealed there , '' Lee says , adding that he believes he is close to achieving his mission .

Lee is organizing a petition drive to place a marijuana legalization measure on the ballot in 2010 , and he thinks the measure stands a good chance of being approved by voters .

A recent California Field Poll showed that more than half the people in the state , where marijuana for medical use was approved more than a decade ago , would approve of decriminalizing pot .

The state 's faltering economy is one reason why . If legalized , marijuana could become California 's No. 1 cash crop . It could bring in an estimated $ 1 billion a year in state taxes .

Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is spearheading a cannabis legalization bill in the California Assembly . He believes the state 's need to increase tax revenues will work in his bill 's favor .

`` I think it 's a seductive part of the equation , '' he says .

Ammiano says there are a number of ways legalized pot could be marketed , `` It could be a Walgreens , it could be a hospital , a medical marijuana facility , whatever could be convenient . Adequate enforcement of the rules . Nobody under 21 . No driving under the influence . ''

Even California 's Republican governor , Arnold Schwarzenegger , says legalizing marijuana deserves serious consideration .

`` I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana , '' Schwarzenegger says .

But Ammiano says selling a legalized marijuana bill to his fellow legislators remains a delicate matter .

`` If we held the vote in the hallway , we 'd have it done , '' Ammiano says . `` But people are necessarily cautious . They are up for re-election . ''

And that is why Lee believes voters will approve a marijuana initiative long before the state Assembly acts . Sitting under grow lights in a warehouse filled with hundreds of marijuana plants , Lee sums it up this way : `` For some people cannabis is like a religion . As passionate as some people are about their religions and freedom to think what they want and to worship as they want . ''

But all of that is baloney to Paul Chabot . He is president of the Coalition for a Drug Free California . He says voters should not be fooled by promises of big bucks flowing to the state from marijuana taxes .

`` It 's their way of sort of desensitizing our communities , our state and our nation to a drug problem that we clearly need to put our foot down on , and say , ` No more . Enough is enough . ' ''

Chabot points out that California 's medical marijuana law has been poorly regulated , and he expects more of the same if marijuana becomes legalized for everyone .

But a substantial number of Californians seem to believe that no amount of enforcement is going to make pot go away -- and that it 's time for the state to begin taking a cut of the action .

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Oaksterdam University specializes in how to grow , market and consume marijuana

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Founder Richard Lee is organizing a petition drive for marijuana legalization

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Lee and others say legalizing marijuana could generate significant tax revenue

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Opponents say revenue claims are misleading , encourage drug abuse